Class 9 English Chapter 1 Question Answers - Moments

Very Short Answer Type Important Questions

Short Answer Questions

Q1: Why did Zan feel awkward and isolated during his first year of high school?
Ans: Zan’s position during his first year of high school as the junior most class made him feel awkward. The big size of the new school and the separation from his closest friends made him feel isolated.

Q2: Why did the author miss his old teachers?
Ans: The author missed his old teachers because they would encourage him to get involved in school activities so that he could meet new people. They also assured him that he would soon adjust to his new school. Their affection, warmth, and cooperation in making him feel special made the author miss them.

Q3: What kind of day it was when a fire broke out in the author’s house? What were the author and his cat doing at that time?
Ans: It was a Sunday afternoon of a cold and windy winter when the fire broke out. The author was at the dining-room table doing homework with the fire burning in the fireplace. His red tabby cat was lying over his papers, purring loudly and sometimes swatting at his pen.

Q4: What does the author notice one Sunday afternoon? What is his mother’s reaction? What does she do? 
Ans: One Sunday afternoon, the author smelled something strange and noticed smoke pouring in through the seams of the ceiling of his house. His mother reacted promptly and the two of them ran out into the front yard. However, she ran back into the house and brought out a small metal box full of important documents.

Q5: What happened to the narrator’s mother when she had run into the burning house?
Ans: The author’s mother inhaled a little smoke when she ran into the burning house. She was rescued by the firemen who put an oxygen mask on her after bringing her out. However, she was fine soon.

Q6: How did Zan’s mother save important documents from the burning house?
Ans: Zan’s mother saved important documents from the burning house by courageously rushing inside the house on fire and bringing out a small metal box that contained those documents. She thus risked her life but eventually succeeded in her mission.

Q7: Why did Zan try to run after his mother and why did the fireman hold him back?
Ans: Zan tried to run after his mother because he was afraid of losing her. He was afraid that she might get burnt in the fire. The fireman held him back because Zan’s act was very rash and illogical. the lie could not have saved his mother and would have risked his life as well.

Q8: When did the author realise that his cat was missing?
Ans: After five hours of a raging fire that burnt down the author’s house almost completely, he realised that his cat was missing. He had not seen her all this while and realised to his horror that she was nowhere to be found.

Q9: Why does the narrator say, “I was suffering loss, big time”?
Ans: The author feels that he was suffering loss, big time because he had lost his old dear school and teachers, he had lost his house to the fire, and now he had lost his dear cat whom he loved dearly.

Q10: In what condition does the author go to school after the fire incident?
Ans: After the fire incident, the author goes to school wearing the dress that he had worn to church on Sunday morning and the tennis shoes that he had borrowed from his aunt. His shoes, clothes, books, homework, and backpack had been destroyed in the fire.

Q11: Why is the author deeply embarrassed the next day in school? Which words show his fear and insecurity?
Ans: The author is embarrassed because he feels that his appearance is weird without uniform, books and a backpack. His fear and insecurity are shown by the words: “Was I destined to be an outcast and geek all my life?”.

Q12: Why did the author dislike growing up?
Ans: The author disliked growing up because he felt that growing up had brought so many losses with it. He had lost his old school, his friends, his house and most of all his dear pet cat.

Q13: What is surreal? Why does the author feel that everything was surreal?
Ans: Surreal means something strange or unreal. The author felt that everything was surreal because too many unfortunate things had happened to him – his house was burnt down, his cat was lost, his mother was left with no money and he had no books, shoes, clothes and school uniform. His secure zone had been ripped away suddenly and the changes were too much and too many for him to handle.

Q14: What was the extent of the damage caused by the fire?
Ans: All belongings except photo albums, documents and some personal items had got burnt in the fire. Whatever remained had been destroyed by the water and chemicals that had been used to put out the fire.

Q15: Why did Zan’s mother have to borrow money from his grandparents?
Ans: Zan’s mother had to borrow money from his grandparents because her credit cards, cash and even identification that was needed to draw money from the bank had gotten burnt up in the fire. She had to rent a new place, buy new clothes for Zan and resettle quickly. She did not have time to wait for the recovery of her lost documents till then.

Q16: Why did the narrator go over to his burnt house even though they had rented an apartment nearby?
Ans: The narrator went over to his burnt house even though they had rented an apartment nearby because he hoped that his cat would be found somewhere. He would watch the clearing away of the debris expecting to see his cat.

Q17: How and why were people acting stranger than usual at Zan’s school?
Ans: When Zan was getting ready for gym class at his locker, people were gathering around him asking him to hurry up. This was stranger than usual as they almost seemed to shove him into the gym. They behaved so because they had put up a surprise collection of school supplies and clothes etc for Zan in the gym.

Q18: Why was the author overcome by emotions when he got help from his schoolmates?
Ans: The author was overcome by emotions when he got help from his schoolmates because they had gone out of their way to bring him the things he needed. He was touched by their genuine outpouring of concern.

Q19: When does the author say “It was like Christmas”? Why?
Ans: The author says this when he gets inside the gym to see the surprise load of school supplies and different clothes on the big table only for him. This seemed like Christmas because these assorted gifts were similar to the surprise gifts that one gets from loved ones on Christmas.

Q20: Why was it different for Zan to see his house getting rebuilt? How did the fire help him?
Ans: It was different to see his house getting rebuilt because Zan wasn’t alone this time. Two of his new friends from school were with him. The fire had helped him by diverting his mind away from his feelings of insecurity. He now opened up to the wonderful people around.

Q21: How did the author’s feelings of loss and tragedy seem to diminish?
Ans:  The author felt gratitude for life, his new friends, the kindness of the woman who had rescued his cat, and certainly for the life of his beautiful cat. This gratitude diminished his feelings of loss and tragedy.

Q22: Why is the author deeply embarrassed the next day in school? Which words show his fear and insecurity?
Ans: The author was full of remorse as he was left with nothing. He didn’t have proper dress and study material. He had no backpack. He had a feeling of insecurity. All things appeared strange to him. He was shocked deeply and seemed frustrated. The words uttered by him “Was I destined to be an outcast and a geek all my life? I didn’t want to grow up, change or have to handle life, if it was going to be this way. I just wanted to curl up and die”. These words reveal his fear and insecurity.

Q23: What was the author’s mother doing on a Sunday afternoon?
Ans: It was blowing cold on that Sunday afternoon. And the author was doing homework at the dining table. His mother was fuelling the fire at the fireplace to keep the room warm.

 Q24: Which three things made the author’s house a home?
Ans: The fire tragedy changed the author’s life. He was so depressed that he did not want to grow up and wanted to die. But his reunion with his cat, his new friends in the school and his new house made his house ‘a home’ where he could live.

Q25: Why did the author, Zan, love his cat so much?
Ans: He had a pet cat which was his constant companion and source of entertainment. He was fond of her and could never think of living away from her. He had a special bond with her because he had rescued her when she was a small kitten.

Long Answer Questions

Also Check at EduRev

• Character Sketch - A House is Not a Home
• Summary: A House is not a Home

Q6: Describe the author’s experience at school after the fire tragedy.
Ans: The author had just joined a new school. He was facing a big problem to make himself fit in the new school. Just after a couple of days in his house caught fire. His school bag and shoes had burnt in a fire.
The next day he went to school. He was around school like a wanderer. Everything appeared to him strange. He did not know what was going to happen him. He returned home with a broken heart. He was experiencing terrible developments in his life.
The next day when he went to school; he found a strange atmosphere all around. People were getting together all around him. They had collected money for him and arranged school supplies and clothing for him. This changed his vision for life once again.

Q7: How is a Home different from a House? Explain with reference to the lesson ‘A House Is Not a Home’.
Ans: Life without love is not life. Human relationship is based on love. The title itself indicates it clearly that a house is not a home without love. The author had to face adverse circumstances in his life. He was a fatherless boy. He led a satisfactory life with his old friends and teachers. But when he changed his schools, he could not adjust to the new environment. He felt alienated. Later, his house caught fire and he lost all the things including his cat. He started feeling dejected and isolated. Life had no interest in him anymore. He started building a new house. But it was not home, as a house is a home only when there is love and happiness. The author did not have any attachment to the new house. His reunion with his cat, his new friends, and the new house made his house a home.